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There’s a magnificent permanent art collection displayed throughout Gloucester’s City Hall, its public buildings and many outdoor locations. In an effort to promote, encourage and share current local art and artists with the public, Mayor Romeo Theken showcases a wide variety of media on temporary loan throughout the Mayor’s office. I took some photos back in February. She requested that buoys painted by our local youth at Art Haven be featured in Kyrouz Auditorium, along with the ‘Downtown Quilt’, the 13th panel from the Gloucester Neighborhood Quilt Project. These quilts are made by residents creating art with Juni Van Dyke, the Art Program Director Gloucester Council on Aging at Rose Baker Senior Center. (Twelve panels were prominently displayed for the 2014 Inauguration for former Mayor, Honorable Carolyn Kirk.)

The local art on display had me thinking about the collection at the ‘People’s House’ for our Nation: what’s the best art inside the White House? No matter what is your artistic preference, Gloucester and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could top the charts as the City and state with the best and most art ties featured at the White House. Let’s break down a selection of that Massachusetts list currently on display at the White House room-by-room, shall we?

In the Oval Office:

Not one, but two Edward Hopper paintings, lent by the Whitney Museum of American Art, are installed one over the other, Cobb’s Barns, South Truro and Burly Cobb’s House, South Truro. There are more than 100 Edward Hopper works inspired by Gloucester, MA. The Childe Hassam’s painting, Avenue in the Rain, and Norman Rockwell’s painting, Statue of Liberty, remain on view.

In the Blue Room:

Fitz Hugh Lane’s Boston Harbor gifted by Lew Wasserman

In the East Room:

Gilbert Stuart’s Washington, John Singer Sargent’s Roosevelt

In the Green Room:

Sargent’s Mosquito Net, John Marin’s Circus, George Peter Alexander Healy’s painting of Adams and Polk and Louisa Adams by Stuart

Several artists are represented by more than one piece. How does the White House collection work? It is unusual for the White House to accept art by living artists. There are more than 450 works of art in the permanent collection. New art enters the collection after its vetted and is restricted to works created at least 25 years prior to the date of acquisition. For the public rooms, the Office of the Curator works with the White House advisory committee, the First Lady serves as the Honorary Chair, and the White House Historical Association. The private rooms are the domain of the First Family. Works of art from collectors, museums, and galleries can be requested for temporary loans and are returned at the end of the President’s final term. The Obamas have selected contemporary art, including abstract art, from the permanent collection, and borrowed work for their private quarters. Besides the Hopper paintings and John Alston’s Martin Luther King sculpture, they’ve selected art by *Anni Albers, *Josef Albers, Edgar Degas, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, *Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, and *Alma Thomas. * indicates works that have been donated to the permanent collection. The Obama Administration upgraded the website so that anyone unable to visit in person can have open access. I encourage visits to the website https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/art. I love the diverse rooms and all the interconnected doors such as the splendid Green Room installation with the Marin and the Jacob Lawrence activating the threshold.

My gratitude to Chris Pantano, Office of the Mayor, Gloucester, MA, and the Office of the First Lady and the White House Office of the Curator for various courtesies shown to me while I prepared this entry.

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Editor’s note: When I posted this yesterday I forgot to take my watermark off which my blogging software does automatically for me. Al these photos were taken by Catherine Ryan-

Hi Joey

Phil Cusumano, artist/captain, and volunteer juror for the 2013 HarborWalk Public Art Challenge administered by the Committee for the arts, stopped by to inspect the public art in process on Parsons Street. The artist, James Owen Calderwood, was being filmed for an interview by Lisa Smith for Cape Ann TV. Dale Brown of the Committee for the Arts was there, too.

Jason Burroughs who is teaching with TAG is volunteering some hours yesterday and today for James’ project.

Though difficult for painting, the off and on rain does provide opportunities for visiting. Last week there were business meetings, here with Sarah Garcia Harbor Planning Director.

Today looking out from City Hall, peering past the high school kids cleaning, the bank, Parsons, and on to the harbor.

James visiting the Hive.

While there, we were privileged to witness GREAT news hot off the press and an intensity enough to match their vibrant space! TAG team members wrote and were awarded a $10,000 grant. Congratulations all!

They were heading over to the Farmer’s Market and David promises to send in names and more information. They were also tracking down Mary Ann to share the news; she was at Maritime Gloucester with the Art Haven campers partnership week.

Next time we’ll head down Parsons over to see the permanent public art installation at Maritime Gloucester museum. The twelve foot diameter compass rose is being installed on city property where the HarborWalk crosses onto Maritime Gloucester. Two artists installing new public art downtown and connections—very exciting news.

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The Gloucester Committtee for the Arts is excited to announce the complete panel of jurors for the Gloucester HarborWalk Public Art Challenge!

At the time of publication of the Call on December 8, 2012, the CFTA welcomed the University of Texas Landmarks museum Director, Andrée Bober;the Peabody Essex Museum Curator of Contemporary Art, Trevor Smith; and teaming up for Cambridge Seven Associates, architects Peter Sollogub and Chris Muskopf, to participate on the jury panel. Joining these distinguished experts on the jury panel are Gloucester citizens John Bell, Phil Cusumano, Morgan Faulds Pike and Jeff Weaver. The CFTA is grateful to the jurors for volunteering their time and considerable talent to help the artists and this process!

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A marine artist and former commercial fisherman, Phil Cusumano paints scenes of local Gloucester/Cape Ann, Massachusetts fishermen, their Gloucester fishing boats and activities from the early nineteen fifties to the present day. His maritime and naval art includes seascapes and scenes from the N. Atlantic coastline as well as of tall ships and schooners. Available for sale are these original maritime oils, watercolors and prints by this internationally known artist Fillipo a.k.a. Captain Phil Cusumano.

The Staff of the Kensington Stobart Gallery invites you to attend the opening reception and exhibit honoring Gloucester Artist Phil Cusumano

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As long as supplies last if any GMG folks want a bumper sticker but can't drop down the dock, just send a self addressed and stamped envelope longer then 7 and a half inches and I'll drop one in the mail for you.

Send the self addressed and stamped envelope to the dock at 95 East Main St Gloucester Ma 01930 care of Joey (put my name in big letters to make sure it gets to me)